Foggy Town
by ArmaamrA
Summary: It all started with a rumor: if you stared into a blank TV screen at midnight, while it's raining, you get to see your soulmate. For Kyle, he isn't very keen on the whole "soulmate" part, but still tries it for his curiosity. However, he didn't expect this to lead to a big mystery that he has to solve with Emily Fletcher. [Being re-written]
1. Rumor

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avalon Web of Magic. As for the main plot of the story, it is based on the video game Persona 4 by Atlus. I am merely using the plot to help create an AU of sorts for the characters of Avalon.**

* * *

It was the beginning of the year, some where in January, that a strange rumor started floating around in Stonehill High. It was currently a Thursday when it finally reaches the ears of a certain sandy-haired teen and his friends.

"Have you heard the rumor?", Marcus asked to the group.

"No, what rumor?", Joey replied.

"The Midnight Channel rumor!", Marcus explained, "When you stare into a closed TV at midnight, on a rainy night, you get to see your soulmate!"

"Ha! That sounds like horse shit!", Kyle laughed, "I didn't know you were interested in that kind of stuff!"

Marcus grinned sheepishly, "I know, but I thought that it would at least benefit one of us."

"Oh! You mean Joey?", Kyle smirked, looking at the mentioned teen.

"You're still pinning after her?", Adam asked, looking surprised, "Even after she ignored you during the graduation party for the 8th graders last year?"

"S-shut up!", Joey glared, "That's none of your business!"

"Dude, your blushing.", the sandy-haired teen pointed out.

"Ooh! So, you do still like her!", Adam joined in.

"Ugh… Fine!", he relented, "Yes, I still like her and yes I know that it's impossible for me to win her heart now."

"Come on Joey!", Marcus cheered up, "She's now in the same high school as us, so you have plenty of time to woo her into your side."

"Do you really think so?", Joey asked, looking hopeful.

"I'm sure", the curly-haired blonde reassured, "But if you need some help, then maybe try the Midnight Channel rumor!"

"But isn't that just a rumor?", Adam asked, looking skeptical.

"If it's false then it's false.", Marcus explained, "But if it's true, then it can help Joey give some more courage to face his crush!"

"Hmmm… Sounds fun. Count me in!", Kyle chimed in.

"Alright, then me too.", Adam added.

"Joey?", Marcus asked, looking at the teen.

"… Fine", he finally answered.

"Alright! Now all we need do is to find out when it rains all night!", Marcus said.

"Let me do that.", Adam volunteered, as he pulled out his phone.

After a few minutes, he looked back up to the group, "We're in luck, there's a rainstorm that's plowing through the town tonight."

"Perfect!", the curly-haired teen looked happy, "Make sure to watch it tonight, alright everyone?"

"Yeah!"

"Sure, whatever…", Joey said, looking done with his friends.

* * *

Keith Holien checked the cameras to make sure they are working one last time for the live interview. He glanced back to see a curly-haired teen fidgeting in the seat where they will film her at. The Stonehill news had decided work together with the three girls of Ravenswood to try to give a little celebration to their success so far. Though he was surprised that the blonde girl, Kara Davis, didn't take the spot to be in the live interview, especially since it looked to be in her area.

"Keith are you finished with those?", one of his coworkers asked.

"Sure am.", he responded back, as he got out of the way from the camera lens.

"Good cuz we're going live in a few minutes here!"

Nodding, he went towards the other workers, who were watching in the back, as the cameramen took their places. The director soon came down and sat in front of the teen, looking like he was giving her a few words of encouragement. The female teen nodded, and the director got up and left, another person taking his spot. In a few seconds, they were on air.

Keith watched, curious to see how the interview will go, especially since the girl looked shy. However, his expectations were blown away as she was able to answer the questions clears and put in a lot of emotion behind her words. He heard a sniff right next to him, causing him to turn and see a few of his coworkers crying. This was turning out better than the director expected it to be.

For a moment, he felt a stab of jealousy, as she seemed to be doing far better than he was when he was in high school. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if colleges and universities will start begging her to join them, unlike him.

He shook his head, trying to come back to his senses. Come on, he was getting jealous over a freshman? How ridiculous is that? He continued to watch the live interview, as he pushed those dark thoughts back into the depths of his mind.

* * *

Kyle sat in front of the flat screen TV in the living room, sitting on the couch just in front of it. He lazily looked at the clock and saw that it was a few minutes till midnight. While he did agree on doing this, he was having some second thoughts. A supernatural TV channel that can tell you your soulmate? Ridiculous.

However, he couldn't help but think of his sister, Kara, and her animal-loving friends, Emily and Adriane. He had caught a glimpse of the live interview earlier this afternoon, but it wasn't until he really thought of it, that he realized how much they accomplished. To think it all started with that rumored purple bear.

He tilted his head a bit at that. Purple bear? He had always assumed that it was because of the radiation of the place, but the place always looked so healthy and natural from all his trips there. If there was radiation, then it should have infected the other animals, but they all looked normal in the tours. The only other weird animals there were those weird French ducks that Kara's older friends mentioned.

The sound of static pulled him from his thoughts as he looked up to see the flat screen TV suddenly on. No, he had pulled the plug on it as an extra measure, so the TV wouldn't suddenly turn on and ruin this experiment. He gawked at the static filled screen, unsure of what to do. It worked. The Midnight Channel exists, but what about…

He gave out a gasp, as a figure appeared on the screen. It looked to be human. He carefully got up from his seat, not taking his eyes away from what he was seeing, and slowly approached the TV. The image was too fuzzy, making it hard to see who it was. He tried squinting his eyes, hoping that he would get something, but much to his disappointment, the screen darkened until all that was left was a dark screen. Looking back at the clock, Kyle realized that it was now 12:01.

He gave out a defeated sigh, as he realized that he needed to sleep soon, as it was still a school day tomorrow. Still, he felt excited. He was proven wrong about the existence of the Midnight Channel, but he didn't mind. That just means that he has something to entertain him.

* * *

Friday morning came, and Emily Fletcher was currently having a hectic school morning. It seemed like everyone in the school had seen the live interview and was greeting her at every direction. Being an empath, she could tell the feelings of the people and animals around her, but to have so many people have their attention towards her… It was overwhelming. It also didn't help that her magic was making her be more sensitive to emotions and feelings.

Everywhere she went, she could feel their stares as they crowded around her, it was full of admiration and longing. As well as jealousy, condescension, and irritation. The feelings that were coming to her were starting to choke her.

"Emily?", the ginger turned around to see Kara, who was staring at her with a worried expression.

"Kara!", Emily greeted, relief washing over her body as she spotted her friend. Unlike that shallow feelings that the people around had on her, the blonde teen next to her gave off genuine concern.

"The spotlight too bright for you?", the blonde asked, guiding her through the crowd, while waving off any people who wanted to get closer.

"A bit…", Emily sighed, already feeling exhausted, "I don't know why they're going after me. You and Adriane did an amazing job in Ravenswood too."

"It's because you did such a good job at that interview!", Kara explained, before leaning in and whispering, "It's scary that you have a high charisma along with some ESP powers. You could rob a bank and convince the police that you did a good thing!"

"That last part was unnecessary…", the ginger grumbled, "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of course, silly."

As the two continued to chat, a male teen around their age stepped in front of them. He had neat black hair and wore simple clothing. It was a bold move of him to step in front of the two girls, especially since it involved Kara, the most popular girl in the school. However, judging by his flushed face and his eyes not being able to look at them directly, he didn't seem very confident. In fact, you didn't need to be an empath to feel the awkwardness coming from the poor boy.

"Um… E-Em… I mean! Emily Fletcher!", he addressed her, "C-can I s-s-see you after school?"

Emily felt her stomach drop, hoping that this wasn't what she thought this was.

"Why is that?", she asked, as the teen flushed, struggling to say what he wanted to say. Oh no, the ginger thought.

"I just… Wanted to say something…", he answered, trying to be cryptic, "J-just meet me after school. Behind the building!"

With that, he jogged away. The crowd of students around them, who had witnessed the whole interaction, started whispering to each other. Looks like this was going to be spread around the whole school. Great. Just Great.

"Looks like someone has a crush on a certain someone.", Kara teased, pulling her friend along towards their classroom.

"Kara, stop it.", Emily demanded, not looking amused. She knew that he was going to try to confess to her, but she already had her answer.

"You're not going to give him a try?", her blonde friend asked.

"We don't even know each other…", she reasoned, "Besides, he probably only likes me because of the live interview…"

'Smart move.', Kara thought, before speaking out loud, "You have someone else in mind? Like maybe a certain fish prince?"

Kara grinned in satisfaction as she saw her friend's face become rosy red.

"Oh, did I hit the nail on the coffin?", she continued to tease.

"Kara, please.", Emily glared, "It's not like that between us! Merlin is just a friend!"

"A friend she says.", Kara repeated, not looking convinced, "What's with that blush then?"

Emily flinched at her response, placing her hands on her cheeks, as if to cover up her flushed skin. Deciding that the blonde had teased her enough, she smiled warmly at her.

"Well… Who ever you choose is up to you.", she said, before noticing that they were close to their destination. She glanced at her friend who looked tired.

"Hey, buck up girl!", Kara encouraged, "You still have a full day ahead of you!"

Emily just grumbled in response, as she was dragged into her classroom. If she had felt drained before, she now felt utterly exhausted.

* * *

It was lunchtime when Kyle was able to meet all his friends again. They all sat together in a table that had less students around them, not wanting his sister and her group to eavesdrop on them.

"Alright! This is our first meeting about the mysterious Midnight Channel!", Marcus announced, "Anyone wants to go first on what they found?"

"I can't believe it actually worked!", Joey started, looking excited, "Honestly, I didn't expect to see someone on it!"

"Who did you see?", Adam asked, looking curious.

"Er, well…", Joey flattered a bit on that, "The thing is… I couldn't really tell. I mean, there was so much static, that I couldn't tell who the person was on the Midnight Channel."

"Eh, really?", Adam looked surprised, "It was the same for me!"

"Hate to say it, but I experienced the same thing too.", Marcus admitted.

The rest of them turned to Kyle, but he just shook his head.

"Well this is disappointing…", Kyle muttered. He had hoped that the others would have seen something more, but it looked like that wasn't the case.

"How about we try again?", Marcus suggested, causing the other teens to look at him, "I mean, we may not have seen anyone specific today, but maybe it'll be

different next time. I already checked the forecast, and there's another rainstorm coming tonight."

"I don't know…", Adam said, not looking convinced.

"Well it doesn't hurt to try.", Joey reasoned, "Besides, it's already amazing that something like this exists."

"That's true."

"Well, why not then!", Kyle piped up, "It's not like we have any better courses of action. So, you all want to watch the Midnight Channel again tonight?"

"You bet!"

"Why not"

"Alright, let's do this!"

As the group of male teens continued to pump themselves up on this, another group of teens sat in a table next to them and began to talk obnoxiously loudly.

"Did you see what happened this morning?"

"You mean that freshman who confronted Emily Fletcher? It's, like, totally obvious that he's going to confess to her."

"For real?! Who's this dude?"

"Some freshman named Allen Whatsit. He looks soooo plain. Does he really think he has a chance with her?"

"Dunno, that Emily chick also looks plain herself."

"Come on, did you see that live interview yesterday?! She's an angel!"

"Whatever, they both look plain. Won't be surprised if they hooked up. Plain people attract plain people."

Kyle raised an eyebrow at this news. Were they serious? Is someone trying to hook up with Emily Fletcher? He looked at his friends, who seemed to have also heard the conversation.

"My, someone's getting famous.", Marcus laughed, "Funny. I still remember the time when she first came to our town."

"Kara's old friends weren't really fond of her…", Joey added, "And Adriane."

"Honestly… I didn't know why my sister started hanging out with them.", Kyle said, "Adriane is the polar opposite of her, and as for Emily… The only prominent memory of her that I have was when she passed out during that football game."

"She did, didn't she?", Adam mused, "Kara said it was a bad hot dog."

"But… Wasn't she watching over three dogs at once?", Joey pointed out, "I doubt that she had time to scarf down a hot dog."

From that, Kyle felt a twig in his consciousness. It was the same feeling that he had when he was musing about the purple bear from last night. It felt like he was being left out on something. He shook his head at that, feeling ridiculous.

"Then it was probably just the heat.", Kyle proposed, feeling annoyed, "Come on guys, she just fainted. She got back up, didn't she?"

"Sorry!", Marcus apologized while smiling, "I was just worried for her, that's all!"

"Oh? Are you getting interested?", Adam joked to the curly-haired teen.

"Oh, no!", he protested, though he couldn't help but blush a bit, "It's just that… I noticed her looking a bit ill during that game, but I was so wrapped up in our team that I didn't give it much thought. I guess you could say that I still feel guilty since then."

"Come on Marcus, I don't think she hates you.", Joey assured, "It's been so long ago, so I bet that she already forgot about it."

"Y-you think?"

"Sheesh, if your so worried, I'll ask her myself.", Kyle popped in, surprising the whole group.

"What?!", Marcus looked mortified at the idea.

"What's wrong with that?", the sandy-haired teen asked, "Since your acting all sissy about this…"

"I appreciate your help, but-!", however, Kyle cut him off.

"Don't worry, I'll go find her right now!", getting up from his seat, he began to scan the area for the familiar ginger.

"Kyle!"


	2. Meeting

Adriane was with Emily on the last class of school, making it easy for her to confront her friend about the rumors. She didn't really believe it at first, chalking it up as baseless rumors, but after a run-in with Kara, she realized that it was all true. Feeling that it was her duty to be her bodyguard, in case this freshman decided to do anything perverted on her, she insisted on following her.

"Come on Adriane, I can do this myself!", Emily protested, as she finished placing her stuff in her locker.

"I'm not doing this because I think your weak, it's because I'm your friend.", Adriane shot back, "Besides, you barely know the boy!"

"He's not a manticore or a shadow creature, what's so bad about him?", the ginger teen argued.

"He's a boy…", the warrior weakly countered.

"Adriane…", she sighed, "What are you going to do to him? High kick him if he's a meter too close?"

"Well…"

"Tie him with your magic if he places a hand on me?"

"Er…"

"Call Stormbringer and Dreamer if he gets angry at me? Come on Adriane, I'll be fine!", Emily reassured, "Trust me."

"…. Fine!", Adriane relented, "But I'll be hiding nearby just in case."

"Alright!", happy with his compromise, she began to head to the area behind the high school building.

* * *

The area behind the school was an ally way, with doorways that connected to the school's kitchen. Food trucks would come in before noon and drop off the needed food supplies at this area. That meant, after school, there shouldn't be any cars or people here. A perfect spot for a private confession.

Allen fidgeted as he waited for Emily to arrive, rehearsing his confession in his head. He knew that this was all sudden for her; why is he confessing to her of all people? To be honest, he had been admiring her for quite some time. He had attended a tour in the Ravenswood preserve, and was lucky to have her as the guide. She looked so happy and passionate at what she was doing, that he couldn't help but to stare at her more than at the animals.

Then came the Midnight Channel. If you stare into a blank TV screen at midnight, while it's raining, you get to see your soulmate. That's what he did last night, and much to his delight, someone did appear. It was fuzzy at first, but he swore that it was Emily. This was what finally spurred him to action. So, what if they didn't know each other? They were soulmates, they were meant for each other.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the ally way, causing Allen to break away from his thoughts. He grinned happily as he realized that it was Emily. She was on time.

"E-Emily!", he greeted, "Happy to see that you came!"

She smiled at him, causing him to blush furiously.

"And you must be Allen?", she asked. He nodded in response and was about to say something when she cut him off.

"Are you going to confess to me?", she continued.

Allen froze, as his blush spread throughout his face, was he that obvious? He nodded again, not trusting his voice.

Emily smiled sadly at him, "Are you sure that's what you want?"

He paused at that. Why would she ask him that? Of course, it's what he wants, they were soulmates after all!

"Of course!", he answered, looking as serious as he could.

Again, she smiled sadly, causing a sinking feeling to develop in his stomach. They were soulmates, right? So why isn't she accepting right away?

"Allen, we barely know each other. How can you be sure I'm the right girl for you?", she continued to ask.

"Because-!", he stopped as she stepped closer and looked at him in the eye.

"Allen think very hard about this. Are you sure I'm the right person for you to date? Why me?"

Allen flattered, as he soon realized how flimsy his reasons are. He couldn't say, 'Yes, I'm sure because I saw you on a supernatural channel that tells me who my soulmate is'.

"… I'm sorry for wasting your time…", he muttered, feeling stupid. He expected Emily to just leave him there but was surprised at what she did. Smiling warmly, she stepped closer and gave him a kiss on the forehead. He flushed at the sudden contact, but before he could say anything, she stepped back.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone who'll love you unconditionally.", she encouraged.

He smiled at this. She could have made fun of him or be disgusted, instead she was supporting him. Knowing that this meeting was over, he began to leave the ally when Emily called out to him.

"The next time we meet, let's just be friends!", she called out, smiling.

He smiled back and gave back a, "Yeah!"

* * *

Kyle was disappointed that he couldn't find Emily during lunch time, though Marcus looked relieved at this fact. However, instead of giving up, he decided to go to a place he knew she would go to; the ally behind the school. So, as soon as classes were done, he went to the entrance of the ally, and just casually waited out there.

A couple minutes went by when that boy, Allen, walked out, looking sad but was smiling. It was obvious that he was rejected. A few more minutes later, Kyle two girls came out of the same ally, talking to each other.

"I told you I would be fine!", Emily huffed, looking miffed at her friend.

"Okay, okay, I was-", the dark-haired teen stopped suddenly, quickly turning around to face Kyle. He wasn't surprised by this action, already knowing how sharp her sense can be. Just like a wolf.

A wolf? How funny, didn't she care for two wolves-?

"What do you doing here?", Adriane demanded.

He shrugged, keeping his cool, "Just hanging around."

Before Adriane could open her mouth, Emily stepped in between them.

"If that's so, then we'll just move along then.", she simply said. She began to walk away, dragging Adriane with her, when he called out.

"Alright… I was lying about that.", he admitted, causing both girls to stop and look at him, "I was actually looking for you, Emily."

The mentioned teen raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to continue.

"You see, my friend Marcus, was wondering whether you hated him for ignoring you during that football game.", he explained.

"Football game?", she looked confused for a moment before realization hit her, "Oh, you mean that! Tell him to not worry about that! I was alright in the end."

"That's good.", Kyle smiled, "Glad to see that you're an understanding person."

"Is that all?", Adriane cut in, doubting that it was all he had to say.

"Weeeeellll…. I am a bit curious on who confessed to you.", he admitted.

'Knew it…', the dark-haired teen thought. Planning to give him a piece of her mind, she was stopped when Emily placed herself between the two again, while giving her a look that said, 'Calm down, I'll handle this'.

"Why do you want to know?", the ginger teen asked carefully.

"Curiosity.", he simply stated, "You rejected him, right? Why? He seemed like a good-looking guy."

"I didn't know him though…", she replied, "Besides, looks aren't everything."

"That's what lonely people say.", he countered, "Do you even have a crush on someone?"

Emily's mind flashed back to Kara teasing her about Merlin, causing her to blush.

"Aha! Your reaction!", Kyle looked happy, he had never seen this expression from her before.

"W-wait!", she protested, trying to gather her thoughts, but he didn't let her.

"So, you DO have someone!", he proclaimed loudly, "Who is it?"

"Nobody!", she responded.

"Well, Nobody must have been a handsome fella.", he teased, "What an interesting name too."

"Wait! What I meant was that I don't have a crush on anyone!", Emily continued to explain herself, but she was soon losing control of the conversation.

"Then why did you blush?", he pressed, "You must have at least someone in that list? If not a crush, then what about a very close friend?"

Emily stuttered a bit, unsure on how to answer that question. Did she have a crush on Merlin? No, there were just friends, and besides, he was a prince… The chaos that was in her head stopped as she remembered this fact. That's why she didn't think that she had a chance. He was royalty while she was just an average teenage girl.

Kyle raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of expression on her face. Did he accidently say something bad? No, he just asked an innocent question, but that didn't stop a small guilty feeling from creeping into his head.

"Alright, punk, you asked enough questions.", Adriane finally chimed in, glaring at Kyle, "I suggest that you beat it."

The dark-haired teen then pulled her friend along, pulling her from her trance. This left him alone near the entrance of the ally, as conflicting emotions raged through him. Did he say something wrong? What was her problem? He quickly pushed them off. He had gotten what he needed from her in the first place, he didn't need anything else.

As he began his walk home, he spotted a weird looking man walking towards him. He looked to be in his twenties, with while hair and piercing red eyes, while wearing a neat looking suit. The man seemed to have spotted him and gave out a greeting.

"Afternoon! Are you a student?", he asked.

"Yeah…", Kyle answered back, "And you?"

"Oh! I'm new in town!", he said, putting out his hand for a handshake, "I'm Ivan Moel, an intern for the weather forecasts."

"I see…", not wanting to be rude, he accepted the handshake. Ivan smiled at him, looking happy.

"Well, it's nice meeting you.", he replied, "Have a nice day."

With that, he continued off, going towards the direction the two girls went. Kyle just shrugged the encounter off, though now he felt dizzy and tired. The day must have worn him off more than he realized. Ready to relax back at home, he continued his way back to his house.

* * *

Emily and Adriane were walking towards the former's home, with the latter mostly talking shit towards Kyle.

"What's his problem!", the dark-haired teen huffed, "Sticking in his nose like that!"

"Calm down Adriane.", Emily soothed, "I'm fine. He was just teasing me."

"Whatever…", she muttered, but then stopped suddenly. Emily stopped as well, looking confused until she turned around to see a young man. He looked surprised to see them stop but just gave out a friendly wave.

"Good afternoon!", he greeted, as he walked up to them and put out his hand towards the two, "I'm Ivan Moel, an intern here in Stonehill."

Emily smiled and accepted his handshake, "I'm Emily and this is my friend Adriane."

"Ah the famous Ravenswood tour guides!", Ivan exclaimed, "I've seen your interview, you were very passionate up there."

"Er... It's nothing really.", the ginger teen said, looking embarrassed.

"No really!", he pressed, "It's amazing, truly amazing."

He glanced at his watch and looked surprised, "Sorry ladies, it looks like I have to go, my break will be over soon!"

With a final wave, he then ran passed them before either of them could say their farewell.

"What a weird dude…", Adriane muttered, "You sure are encountering a lot of people."

"Can we please just go home?", Emily asked, suddenly feeling drained.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

By the time Kyle had arrived at his house, he had forgotten his conversation with Emily, her strange expression near the end of it, and even his encounter with that Ivan dude. He was just excited on what he would see in the Midnight Channel. In fact, that was all he could think about, making the afternoon drag on slowly for him, much to his displeasure.

When midnight was finally a few minutes away, Kyle found himself sitting in front of the living room TV again. He kept glancing back and forth between the clock and screen, feeling impatient. Finally, the clock struck midnight, causing the boy to whip his head toward the TV.

Once again, screen glowed as static appeared in the screen. Then, slowly, a figure appeared, the same one from last night, this time, the image slowly began to get clearer. Kyle leaned closer, squinting his eyes, as he tried to get as to get a better look before widening in shock.

"The fuck…"

Though it was still fuzzy from the static, it became clear on who was being shown in the Midnight Channel.

"Emily?", Kyle looked confused, "Why are you…?"

"_When you stare into a closed TV at midnight, on a rainy night, you get to see your soulmate!", Marcus explained._

Kyle blinked, as that memory flashed through his mind, but it took a while for him to properly digest it. The Midnight Channel is supposed to show one's soulmate, right? Then that would mean…

"FUCK!", Kyle shouted out, his face burning with embarrassment, "What the FUCK!?"

He knew that he should have been expecting something like this, but he didn't know that it could show one of his sister's friends. Especially since he recently teased her on her love life.

"Kyle shut the fuck up!", Kara screamed from her room.

"No, YOU shut up!", he screamed back, "I'm having a CRISIS over here!"

He then heard a door slam open and some footsteps that were coming down the stairs. From around a corner, Kara's cranky face popped up.

"What are you even doing there?", she asked, looking pissed, "Go back to bed, stupid."

Glancing back at the TV screen, which reverted to normal, he grumpily complied and got up from the couch.

"Yeesh, what were you even watching? A soap opera?", his blonde sister continued to nag, "Crisis my ass…"

Ignoring her, he climbed up the stairs to his room, and slammed the door behind him. A few minutes later, he heard the door from Kara's room also close. Giving out a tired sigh, he flung himself to his bed and closed his eyes.

* * *

He opened his eyes and found himself not in his bed but standing in the middle of a road with a dense yellow fog surrounding him. He looked around, but the fog made it hard to see what was in front of him.

"Hello?", he called out, but no one answered. Having no other choice, he began to walk in a random direction, hoping to bump into someone along the way.

"Hehe…", Kyle looked around, swearing that he heard someone giggle.

"Hehehe…!", There it was again! He listened again intently, trying to find the source of the laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!", he flinched as the giggling turned into a full-blown laughter that came from all directions. Not knowing how to react, he just continued walking, trying to ignore the noise bouncing around him, but he could feel it slowly creeping into his mind, making him go crazy. He shut his eyes, plugged his ears, and continued running, hoping to get away from the loud noises and this scary place. However, this caused him to bump into something, making him land on his butt.

"Ow…", he grumbled, rubbing his behind. He looked up and was shocked to see who he had bumped into.

"Ugh…", Emily groaned, as she laid sprawled on the ground in front of him.

"Emily…", he called out, confused.

"Huh? Kyle is that you?", she asked, squinting through the fog. She quickly scrambled up and went towards him until she was right in front of the male. A smile then broke out on her face as she quickly recognized him.

"Oh my god, it's really you!", she exclaimed happily, as she embraced him.

"Uh, yeah…", he responded back, feeling his face burn. Stupid Midnight Channel, he didn't act this way around her before! Gathering his thoughts together, he pulled away from her.

"Where are we?", he asked, hoping that this encounter would shed some light on this situation.

"I don't know…", she answered, "At first I was asleep in my room, but then I woke up and found myself here! I wandered around a bit until you suddenly bumped into me!"

"Er, sorry about that…", he apologized, "The same thing happened to me, but then there was laughter that was coming from all over the place, so I just kept running with my eyes closed and my ears plugged."

"That's no good!", Emily scolded, "It's especially dangerous to do that when there's fog, your lucky that you only bumped into me. What would have happened if it was a cliff instead?!"

He flinched at that thought and muttered an apology. She smiled at him and helped him get up, "Well, since we're together, why don't we continue finding an exit here?"

He nodded, as he accepted her help. The laughter had disappeared, but the fog still shrouded them, making it hard to see a few feet in front of them. He jumped when he felt Emily touch his hand.

"Come on, we don't want to lose each other, now do we?", she asked. Though she had a point, it still didn't stop his face from burning. He hoped to god that she couldn't see his blush through the fog.

"S-sure… I don't mind.", he replied, allowing her hand to intertwine with his. Stupid Midnight Channel, stupid Midnight Channel, stupid Midnight Channel….

"Well, let's get going!", she smiled optimistically, and pulling Kyle from his thoughts. With no clear destination, the duo began to walk through the fog, hoping to find an way out of the place that they awoken to.


	3. Velvet

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avalon Web of Magic. As for the main plot of the story, it is based on the video game Persona 4 by Atlus. I am merely using the plot to help create an AU of sorts for the characters of Avalon.

* * *

Kyle and Emily had been walking through the fog for some time before they finally stumbled across a house. On the outside, through what the fog could allow them to see, it looked old and had some mold growing in some places. The door also looked old, with a strange butterfly symbol carved at the top and a pen stabbed into the wood.

"Finally shelter!", Kyle exclaimed, "We can warm up in here!"

Taking a step forward, he stopped when Emily pulled back on their intertwined hands. He looked back and saw that she was staring cautiously at the door.

"What's wrong?", he asked.

"… Nothing…", she muttered, "Let's go inside."

He stared at her for a bit before shrugging it off and grabbing the door handle. Immediately, he let it go, as the cool looking metal burned his hand.

"Shit!", he yelped, shaking his hand.

"Kyle?!"

"It's fine!", he assured, "Just didn't expect the handle to be so hot…."

He continues trying to cool down his hand until the pain subsided, but he now had a burn mark on his hand. Great. Looking back on the door, he glared at the door handle until something else caught his attention.

On the wood of the door, words started forming until it read:

_People with the ability to change the world, art thou ready to accept thou contract?_

_If so, sign here: _ __

"Hold on, what contract?", Kyle asked, looking confused. As if hearing him, more words formed on the wood.

_People with the ability to change the world, art thou ready to accept thou contract?_

_Accept thou responsibility, and we shall help thou in the chaos coming._

_Accept thou heart, and it shall lend its power._

_If so, sign here: _ __

Kyle stared at the door, before coming to a clear conclusion.

"I get!", he shouted, surprising Emily, who was reading the words besides him, "I'm in a dream! Whew, for a moment I thought I was kidnapped into a weird place!"

He looked at the words with a new perspective, almost as if he was a player reading the rules. Meaning, he just skimmed through the words and grabbed the pen from the door, which was just stabbed into the wood. In a few seconds, he had signed his name on one of the blank lines.

"Wait!", Emily warned, but it was too late.

"Come on, Dream Em!", he encouraged, "Why not?"

She stared at him as if he was crazy before giving out a sigh.

"Fine… Might as well…", she took the pen from him and signed her name on the other blank. The moment she finished, the words glowed blue before causing the door to violently swing open. On the other side, there was a tall man standing there, as if he was waiting for the two teens. He looked handsome, with white hair and piercing yellow eyes. Even more strange was the clothes he wore, which were all in a mysterious blue color.

"Welcome…", he bowed, "Master has been waiting for the two of you."

"Cool, take me to your leader.", Kyle casually said with a grin.

The strange man raised an eyebrow at him but stepped back to let the two in, "Just enter in have a seat."

When Kyle entered in, Emily stayed behind and stared at the man, "What is this place?"

"Ah, glad to see that someone is more patient…", he smiled, "Master will soon explain. Now, please enter in, you signed the contract after all."

She warily stared at the house one more time, before stepping into the threshold.

* * *

It was smaller and bluer than Kyle anticipated it to be. In fact, everything in the room was in the same blue that the strange man wore. Other than that, it looked to be like the inside of a cozy cabin, complete with a fire place. In the center, there was a couch that was in front of an even more strange looking old man behind a table.

"Greetings…", the man chuckled, as he motioned to the couch, "Have a seat!"

Now that he knew that this was all a dream, Kyle strutted over to the couch and sat down. A few minutes later, Emily had come inside and joined him, with the other younger man taking his place beside the other resident of the room.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room!", the old man began, "It is a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. My name is Igor, the host to this room. Next to me is Alphonse, my assistance."

"Greetings…", he replied, giving a small smile.

"Why are we here?", Emily demanded, looking at the two warily, "Both of you aren't human, right?"

"Calm down miss.", Alphonse laughed, "We aren't here to hurt you. Like I said, let my master explain."

"Yeah Em, just let them talk!", Kyle smiled, "Yeesh, what's got you riled up."

'It's the fact that they are strangers with terrifying amounts of power oozing out from them…', Emily thought, though she couldn't say that out loud.

"Ahem…", Igor coughed to gain their attention, "To answer your first question, you are here because you signed a contract. If you have read it."

He looked straight at Kyle.

"You would have noticed that it says chaos is coming.", he finished.

"Hey, I did read it!", the sandy-haired teen protested, but stopped when he felt Emily touch his hand. He looked at her and saw that she was giving him a warning look.

"That is what we are here for.", Igor continued, the outburst not affecting him, "A storm is coming to your town, so to help you survive it, we will help guide you two through your journey."

"That is, if you want to even fix the problem.", Alphonse added, "You can ignore what we say tonight, and your life will still continue on like normal."

"However, ignoring it might be the death of many people.", the old man warned.

"What do you mean?!", Emily demanded, her face looking pale.

"That, we cannot tell.", the assistant replied.

"Then what should we do?", Kyle asked, looking excited. This dream was becoming more and more interesting for him, making him wonder when it will end.

"This chaos will be caused by someone in your town.", Igor explained, "However, finding the identity of this person won't be easy. As such, you two need to work together, as well as any help from your friends, to find out."

"While we cannot directly help you in solving this mystery, we will offer assistance that will become clear in the near future.", Alphonse added.

Just then, the clock from the room started chiming, drawing the attention of the residents of the room.

"Looks like time is up.", Alphonse noted, "Time for you to wake up."

"Until we meet again… Farewell", Igor said.

* * *

Kyle jolted awake and found himself tangled in the sheets of his own bed. Sitting up, he saw that he was in his room, not in a foggy area or a totally blue room. What a weird but fun dream. After untangling himself from his bed, he got up, stretched, and walked towards his bedroom door. However, when he touched the door handle, he winced in pain. He pulled back and noticed a burn mark on his hand.

"What the…?"

His mind flashed back to his dream, which remained fresh and livid in his mind, where his hand was burned by that door handle. It should have been a dream, right? So why did…?

He shook his head. Now was not the time to ask questions, there was only one way to figure this out. He needed to confirm this with Emily.

* * *

Kara had made plans this weekend to spend some quality time with all her friends, especially since there was a new year's sale! Of course, her original friends would be there, but she also managed to wrangle in Emily and Adriane in, considering that they needed a few lessons on fashion. Especially for the latter person. She smiled to herself, this was going to be a fun day and there was no way it was going to get ruined.

"Morning…". Kyle yawned, entering the kitchen that she was in.

"Morning 'I'm-in-the-middle-of-a-crisis'", she replied, "What were you even doing last night."

"I was checking out the Midnight Channel.", he answered right away. That got her attention.

"The Midnight Channel? You mean that ghost channel that let's you see your soulmate?", she asked, "I didn't think you would be interested in that."

"I was only in for the supernatural part.", he explained. He opened the fridge and saw leftovers from last night.

"Bit off more than you can bargain, I bet", Kara smirked, "Who did you see?"

"Why should I tell?", he shot back, warming up the leftovers in the microwave.

"Because you either get to tell me or I wring it out of you.", she offered.

"I'd like to see you try.", he grinned. The microwave beeped, making Kyle pause as he pulled out his food and settled down across the table from his younger sister.

"You'll be surprised.", she grinned back, "I have people who can make you talk."

"What? You'll have your friends tie me up and play good cop, bad cop with Adriane?", he joked.

"You'll soon eat your words…", she warned, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Anyways, where are you going?", he asked, changing the subject. Kara narrowed her eyes at that, but then decided to go along with it.

"The mall. They're having a huge sale for the new years.", she explained, "Of course Tiffany, Heather, and Molly are coming, but I also got Emily and Adriane to come along."

Kyle froze at what she said, "What?"

"I know!", Kara continued, "It took me a while to get aboard with the idea, but she needs some new clothes that aren't black. I think purple might suit her well…"

Emily… Emily is going to be there. At first, he was going to wander around town until he found her, but with this information, it made this easier for him.

"Take me with you!", he suddenly exclaimed, causing her sister to jump in her seat.

"Woah, I didn't know that seeing Adriane in a color other than black would be surprising for you…", Kara noted, "But no. Girls only."

"Haha, guess what? Fuck that rule.", he shot back, "I'm coming whether you like it or not."

"Ew… Was Adriane the one you saw in the Midnight Channel?", she looked horrified.

"Gross, no!"

Kara huffed, "Then who? Tiffany? Molly?"

"Do you really want to know?", he asked.

She nodded vigorously.

"No one. Now shut up and let me eat in peace."

"Then why don't you let me, and my friends shop in peace?", Kara whined.

"Cuz I'm bored anyways.", he replied.

"That is so not a reason! Go play with your own friends!"

However, Kyle had opted to ignoring her, not interested in the conversation anymore. Whether she liked it or not, he was determined to join her group. The only problem is, how was he going to talk to Emily alone without bringing suspicions to themselves.

* * *

"Um, Kara?", Tiffany whispered to her blonde friend, "I thought this was supposed to be a _girl's_ shopping day?"

"Ugh, don't ask.", Kara groaned, "For some reason, he was really adamant about coming with me. I think it has something to do with that Midnight Channel rumor."

"You mean that supposed secret TV channel that lets you see your soulmate?", Tiffany's eyes widened, "Do you think…?"

"I don't see any other reason why.", she sighed.

"Should I tell the others?"

"Yes… But make sure to act discreet…", Kara whispered.

Meanwhile, Kyle, who was walking behind the group of girls, could see both his sister and Tiffany talking. It was obviously about him.

'Crap, I need to get Emily, otherwise, they'll start catching on…', he thought, 'Hmmm… What to do…'

As he was deep in thought, he didn't notice a soda can on a ground in front of him.

Meanwhile, Emily, who was in the front of the group couldn't help but grimace when she heard a crash behind her. Turning around, she confirmed that her soda can trick had worked. Sorry Kyle, this was the only way.

"Kyle!", she cried out, as she rushed to his side, "Are you hurt?!"

"Ughh… Blugg…", he groaned, as he held his nose. Landing on his face had given him a bad nosebleed.

"Oh, no!", pulling out a handkerchief from her pocket, Emily pressed it against his face, "Here, let's go buy some bandages, and…"

She then noticed his hand which was bandaged up, "What's this…?"

"Burn…", he answered, though it was muffled by the piece of cloth.

'More evidence…', she noted, before returning back to her act, "Then we should go to a Pharmacy right now!"

Gently helping him up, she looked back to the others, "I'll handle him, you guys go one ahead!"

"But-!", Kara felt conflicted. While it made sense to leave Emily to fix Kyle up, why does she get a feeling that he's getting away?

"Kara.", Emily called out, "Leave this to me."

"Alright…", she relented, "Meet us on the food court once you're done, alright?"

Giving a nod, the ginger began to lead the injured male away from the others. However, she didn't go to the direction of the Pharmacy like she promised. Instead, they had exited the mall and went behind the building, near the dumpster.

"Thes isn't tha Farmacy…", he noted.

"Just pinch your nose really hard and lean forward.", Emily explained, "That should form a blood clot that will stop the bleeding, it doesn't require special treatment. Unless you want a tampon shoved up your nose."

"No tanks…", he said, following the instructions that she gave him, "How about mah burn?"

"It looks like you already properly fixed it. Your lucky that you didn't get any blood on the bandages."

"Considering that it's hard for you to speak right now, I guess I'll start…", Emily began, turning serious, "Now please answer truthfully, did you have the same dream as me? Of that foggy place? Of the Velvet Room with Igor and Alphonse?"

Kyle nodded and even waved his bandaged hand at her, "Burn was reel."

It was all real. Kyle couldn't believe what was happening to him that this all felt surreal. First the Midnight Channel, now a mysterious dream that warned of upcoming danger. He was like Sherlock Holmes with his partner Dr. Fletcher!

"Hey, this may seem fun, but this is serious!", she scolded, seeing that he wasn't taking this seriously, "If what Igor said is true then-"

"Then wha?", he interrupted, "Are you jus going to worry about it? Relax, we don't hath other details right nao so all we can do is wait."

"Wait?!", but before she could protest further, he put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a serious look.

"Wait."

"… Fine…", Emily relented, "But if you dream or encounter anything that's out of the ordinary or weird, tell me right away, alright?"

He nodded.

"And if we have the same dream again, let's meet up to talk about it", she continued.

He nodded again, this time looking exasperated.

"By tha way. Can I remoth this hanky?", he asked.

"Huh? Oh, let me see."

Having Kyle let go of his nose, she gently held his face as she inspected his bloody nose.

"Looks like a blood clot formed.", she noted, "Now don't blow your nose, or scratch it off for the rest of the day. Unless you want it to bleed again."

He tried to nod but was reminded that she was holding his face. In fact, he also noticed that their faces were close to each other. Fuck.

"Your face is pretty bloody…", Emily mentioned, looking away from him as she searched in her pockets, "I should have some wipes with me…"

Stupid Midnight Channel, it was confusing the hell out of his brain. No way did he have any feelings for her, in fact he was going to prove it. If he kissed her and didn't feel anything, that should prove that it's all just a fluke, right?

"Ah, found it!", facing back towards the boy, she began to gently wipe the blood off.

Alright now or never!

"There! That should be-", she stopped when Kyle suddenly grabbed her hand, "Er, Kyle…?"

Her face started burning as she began to feel a strong emotion coming off from him. What was he planning?!

* * *

"Do you think your brother is okay?", Molly asked, as they found an empty table in the food court.

"I'm more surprised that he got critically injured by a soda can.", Adriane chortled.

"How did on even get on the floor without anyone noticing?", Heather wondered.

Once again, Kara felt like she let something slip by her, but she couldn't tell what. She could just push it away, but…

"But you know… Something is bothering me…", Tiffany chimed in, "You know the location of the Pharmacy?"

"Yeah.", Kara answered.

"Weren't they going in the opposite direction?", the statement causing the nagging feeling inside the blonde to grow.

"She probably doesn't know.", Heather pointed out, "I mean, I doubt she comes here often."

"Yeah…", Molly agreed, but then looked confused, "But why a Pharmacy? It's not like they have bandages for nosebleeds… Besides, it doesn't take much to stop one."

"But he also had that burn!", Heather remembered.

"Yeah but he treated it long before we… got here…", Kara stopped and looked at Tiffany, "No…"

"Oh my god…", her friend muttered back.

Adriane looked between the two, "Alright, you better explain what's going on here."

"Adriane, there's no time for that!", the blonde suddenly burst out, "We need to find Emily!"

"He might be flirting with her right now!", Tiffany added.

This was enough information for the dark-haired teen, who suddenly turned serious, "That punk…"

As for the two other girls, judging by the expressions of the others, they quickly caught on to the situation.

"Oh my! I didn't know your brother could be attracted to someone.", Molly said, "But where should we look? The mall is huge!"

"Adriane?", Kara asked, looking at the now pissed off warrior.

_Dreamer!_ She called out to her bonded.

_What's wrong? You seem more agitated today…_ Dreamer answered back.

_Where's Emily?! She could be in danger!_ Adriane informed.

_Danger? Well, I did see her behind the building with that human boy, but…_

"Follow me.", Adriane stated, as she began to run. Kara easily began to follow her, but her friends, who weren't expecting this, scrambled to catch up.


	4. Explain

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avalon Web of Magic. As for the main plot of the story, it is based on the video game Persona 4 by Atlus. I am merely using the plot to help create an AU of sorts for the characters of Avalon. **

* * *

Emily stopped Kyle just in time by placing her hand between their faces, her face burning red as she realized what he was going to do. Why was he doing this? There was no way he had developed any feelings for her in the few interactions they had.

"W-what are you doing?!", she demanded, pushing herself away from him.

"Damn, rejected already…", he sighed, "Hmm… But I don't feel sad about it…"

His face broke out into a bright smile, surprising the female in front of him, "That means I don't have any feelings for you!"

"Wait, what…?", Emily looked confused, trying to figure out what was going through his mind.

"Don't you see?", he asked, excitedly, "If I don't have feelings for you, then I proved the Midnight Channel wrong!"

"Midnight Channel?"

"You know, the rumor that if you stare into a blank TV screen at midnight while it's raining, you get to see your soulmate.", he explained, looking shocked that she didn't know.

"You mean that weird rumor that's been going around?", Emily still felt lost, "Why has this gotten to do… Oh… Ooooohh!"

Realization finally hit her. He saw the Midnight Channel, and from the looks of things, it worked. However, he is also saying that he is proving it wrong, so the person that he saw was… Oh.

"What the hell… That's a flimsy reason to try to kiss someone.", she said, trying to sound angry. However, she sounded more embarrassed than anything. Still, the Midnight Channel sounded interesting. Could there be a magical reason behind it?

"What it showed me was messing with my head.", Kyle explained, "I just wanted to keep the facts straight, so thanks Em!"

"Whatever.", she huffed, "Besides, we need to go back inside soon, otherwise the others-"

"HOLD IT THERE, PUNK!", Adriane's voice cut through the ally, as the two turned and saw the whole group right before them.

"-will come looking for us…", Emily finished.

Without saying another word, Kara and Adriane marched up to the sandy-haired teen and glared at him.

"So, you intentionally hurt yourself with a soda can, so you can get some alone time with our friend, huh?", Kara stated, looking pissed.

"Huh? What, no. I have no idea what your talking about!", Kyle protested.

"Can it, punk!", Adriane snapped, "Who do you think you are?!"

"Alright, alright, calm down guys.", Emily came in, firmly planting herself between her friends and Kyle, "I wanted to come here so that the janitor would complain about mopping anymore blood on the floor."

"What about the idea of going to the Pharmacy?", Molly chimed in from behind them.

"Well, as I got a closer look, I figured he didn't need a tampon shoved up his nose, so there was no need to go there.", she explained.

"Come on, there was nothing weird going on! Just let me go!", Kyle complained. In the inside, he was now thankful that Emily stopped him from kissing her. If they would have walked into that scene, he would have come back home in a coffin.

"Guys…", Emily pleaded again. From the corner of his eye, Kyle swore he saw her jewel that she always wore, glow a pale blue.

"… Fine.", Adriane relented.

Seeing her back off, Kara did the same, "Whatever you say… But if he does something to you, don't hesitate to tell us."

"Sure thing!", she smiled cheerfully.

* * *

After that little mishap, Kyle decided it was best to split from the girls, who didn't seem to notice or care, and stick to the food court. Taking out his phone, he noticed that Marcus had tried calling him a few times before just sending him a text message.

_We're going to the food court on the mall to talk about the Midnight Channel. Be there at noon!_

"Kyle is that you?", speaking of the devil, he saw his group of friends standing in front of him with trays filled with food, "We tried calling you, but you weren't picking up! Looks like you were here all along."

"Sorry Marcus, but there was something that I had to do.", Kyle explained, "It was about the Midnight Channel-"

"You saw Emily, right?", his friend interrupted him. Surprised, Kyle looked at the others and saw that they had serious expressions on their faces.

"Yeah… How did you know?"

"Because we saw her too."

"Okay, so let me get this straight.", Joey stated, "So you basically forced yourself in Kara and her friend's shopping day, just so you can talk to Emily about a weird dream that you two shared?"

"Yeah.", Kyle confirmed, "I was trying to find a way to talk to her, but then a random can helped fixed that!"

"Which gave you a bloody nose.", Marcus concluded, "And since Emily knows a bit of medicine, she volunteered to help you."

"Yep!"

"That's alright and all.", Joey said, "But what was with that part about you trying to kiss her?!"

"To try to prove the Midnight Channel wrong.", Kyle answered, looking as if that was an obvious explanation.

"But from what you also said, she rejected you!", Adam snickered.

"That's right. So, since she rejected me, and I didn't feel sad about it, this proves that the Midnight Channel was wrong about us being soulmates!", Kyle proclaimed.

"Of course, she would reject you, you idiot!", Joey cried out, "Any girl would do the same thing, soulmate or not, if a person they barely interacted with just suddenly leaned in for a kiss!"

"That's right!", Marcus chimed in, "If you truly are soulmates, then a small rejection wouldn't stop you two. In fact, this would only mark the beginning, as you two find yourselves meeting each other more and more. Even if you don't want to see each other, there they are, just around the corner! By then, you tolerate each other's company, but that soon evolves to friendship, then to love! That is how soulmates work!"

"Dude, how much romance anime do you watch?", Kyle asked, "This is real life, you know."

"Besides, I think we're getting off topic here as well.", Joey reminded, "We're here to talk about why we all saw Emily in the Midnight Channel."

"Maybe it's because we all get to marry her in the future?", Adam proposed.

"Hell no! I only have eyes for-!", Joey stopped himself, his face red.

"Eyes for Adriane only, huh?", Kyle finished for him.

"Well… What I meant was…", Joey stammered trying to find his words.

Adam laughed with Kyle, "Dude, your hopeless!"

"Aww, don't worry Joey.", Marcus comforted, "You still have a chance!"

"G-guys!", he protested, though his face was red, "We're getting off track here!"

Unfortunately, they couldn't get back on topic in the end, as they just spent the next hour making fun of each other. By then, the some of the girls in the group had taken a break from shopping and had returned to the food court.

"Great, more boys!", Heather complained, as she sat down in a nearby table while dropping off bags of clothes. Next to her, Tiffany, Kara, and Adriane had also taken a seat with their own bags full of clothes. Seeing that his crush was there, Joey suddenly took interest in his chili fries.

"Dammit Kyle.", Kara groaned, "Did you really have to bring in your friends?"

"Hey, they came here on their own.", her brother defended himself.

"Sorry if we're bothering you!", Marcus apologized, "But we decided to have a little guy-to-guy talk here."

"Well, at least someone is decent.", Heather huffed, before getting up from her seat, "I'm going to get something to eat."

"Oh, me too!", Tiffany chimed in, following her.

"Hey, where's Emily and Molly?", Kyle asked, looking around for the two girls.

"Molly accidently cut her hand with a broken hanger.", Kara explained, "So Emily took her to the Pharmacy for some bandages."

"Hey, that sounds familiar.", Adam joked, while nudging Kyle with his elbow.

Adriane and Kara caught this and glared at the sandy-haired teen.

"So, Kyle… What was this guy-to-guy talk you were all talking about?", she asked, her cool gaze freezing the group of boys, "Are you telling something that you shouldn't?"

"Me? Naw…", Kyle sweated and glanced at his friends for confirmation.

"Yeah, we don't know what your talking about!", Joey added.

"You sure?", Adriane growled, switching her gaze to Adam.

The teen nodded vigorously, "Yeah, man. I was just mentioning… Me accidently cutting my hand as well! There were looooots of blood everywhere that even Kyle passed out!"

"What's going on here?", Molly's voice popped up. The whole group looked to find her and Emily standing a few feet away.

"Nothing.", Kara and Adriane answered, nonchalantly, as their murderous intent disappeared when their healer returned. Just then, Heather and Tiffany also returned, and the atmosphere returned to normal.

* * *

The whole shopping day ended with no other incident, with Kara's old friends taking their clothes home and the other girls heading for Ravenswood. As for the boys, they decided to head to Kyle's home to play some games. Recently, they discovered that the creator of their favorite MMORPG, Oak Story, had created another game called Oak Story 2. While the titles are similar, the gameplay and story were completely different from the original. They had recently downloaded it into their laptops and were creating their characters.

"Hey, what character are you choosing?", Marcus asked, "I'm going for the Knight!"

"Typical.", Joey remarked, "I'm just taking the Archer class like before."

"Dude, all those classes are lame!", Adam chimed in, "The Heavy Shooter sound more fun than those two."

"Agh! I was wanting to try that!", Kyle complained, "Eh, I'll just choose Berserker then…"

"Hehe, too slow!", Adam stuck his tongue out.

"What should be our character's names then? Want it to be like last time?", Marcus proposed.

"No way! We made them in early middle school!", Joey protested, "Let's choose some cooler names!"

"Like what?", Adam asked.

"Let's just use our chat nicknames to be simple.", Marcus offered.

Not seeing much of a problem with it, the group finished creating their characters and was soon booted into the new gaming world. From there, they immediately met up with each other, created their guild, and began their monster hunting.

"Agh! Hey Joey, there are still too much slimes on my side!", Kyle complained, as his character was starting to get swarmed with enemies.

"Here, let me cast shield- Woah!", Marcus tried to help, but more monsters appeared on the map and began to attack the group, "Joey! Adam!"

"I'm coming but my arrows are only killing so much!", Joey answered.

"Why did we come to a higher leveled area?!", Adam complained, as he tried to blow bullets through the mob in front of his character.

"So, we could level up faster?", Kyle offered.

"Crap, I'm running low on health!", Marcus panicked, "Does anyone have potions?!"

"I do, just let me get to you!" Joey called out, however, there was a mob of slimes currently in between them.

"Agh, just retreat!", Kyle ordered, "This is too much for us!"

The group then did a tactical retreat, though not before the slimes dealt a little more damage to them. They then entered a town, safe from any monsters from attacking them.

"Damn… That was harder than I expected…", Adam sighed.

"Yeah, let's not go to any higher-level areas anymore…", Joey proposed.

"Though it would at least be helpful if we were able to help heal each other.", Marcus pointed out, "I was nearly killed, and Joey couldn't hand me any potions because of the distance between us."

"Are you suggesting that we get a healer in our team?", Kyle asked.

"It would be very helpful for us in tougher areas.", he explained.

"True, but I don't want to have a stranger in our team…", Adam remarked.

"You want someone in school to play with us? Is that what your asking?", Joey asked.

"Hmmm… Well…"

"Whatever let's just log off and take a break.", Kyle proposed, already logging out from his account. The others slowly agreed, as they closed their own computers and got up to stretch. As they did, they heard the front door open and the sound of girls talking downstairs.


	5. Missing

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avalon Web of Magic. As for the main plot of the story, it is based on the video game Persona 4 by Atlus. I am merely using the plot to help create an AU of sorts for the characters of Avalon.

* * *

"I'm glad that you three girls agreed to this!", a female reporter thanked, as Emily, Kara, and Adriane lead her to the living room of the blonde's home.

"No, it's an honor for us.", Kara said, "I can't believe that you want to make a special episode for Ravenswood!"

"Well, after how successful the live interview was, the director wanted to go further with it.", the reporter explained, "I'm just here to see what dates are available to do our shooting, as well as some ideas you three want to pitch in."

"Oooh, let's involve everyone in our school!", Kara suggested, "They helped a lot in the past."

"We can also add in some tourists to make it seem more natural!", Emily added.

"Don't forget about the stars of the show; the animals of course.", Adriane reminded.

"Splendid!", the reporter looked happy at the group.

As the group continued to discuss the details of the special episode, they didn't notice a group of boys who were eavesdropping from around the corner.

"Dude, no way.", Adam breathed, "This is awesome!"

"I can't believe how much Ravenswood had gotten popular…", Marcus noted.

"I know right…", Joey agreed.

"Hey, Kara, is this true?", Kyle shouted out to the other group. They all turned around and saw the group of boys who were peaking their heads into the living room. Emily couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow, not expecting to see him so soon again.

"Kyle, let the professionals handle this!", Kara shouted back, "And yes, it's true."

"Cool!", grinning, he turned and headed towards the kitchen.

"Dude, you blew our cover!", Adam complained, as he followed the sandy-haired teen

"Whatever, they were bound to tell us the details anyways.", Kyle shot back. He looked through the cabinets, trying to find a good snack to munch on.

His friends soon joined him, as they quickly took a few snacks before retreating to his room. However, Kyle was stuck on choosing between a whole bag of chips or just taking the last package of cookies. As he was weighing each option, he didn't notice a certain ginger walk into the kitchen.

"Oh…", Kyle jumped when he heard a feminine voice behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was Emily, who looked surprised.

"Sup.", he greeted, "Didn't expect to see each other so soon?"

She nodded, though he noticed that she wasn't looking at him in the face.

'Was she still embarrassed about before?', he thought. Feeling slightly guilty, he decided to address it a bit.

"Are you still mad about me trying to kiss you?", he bluntly asked. Emily froze at that before staring at him at how bold or dense he could be to bring it up so nonchalantly. However, he took this as a confirmation.

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you in some way.", he continued, "I realize that how I said things sounded like that I didn't appreciate you as a person. So… Can you forgive me?"

Emily just stared at him, unsure on how to react to this. She had already forgiven him on that near kissing incident and was only acting flustered because she was wondering if she could talk to him later about the dream. However, Kyle mistook her silence on her not getting his apology. Maybe because he didn't sound sincere enough? Struggling to find the right words, he opened his mouth again before Emily stopped him.

"No, I'm not mad at you for that.", she replied, "Don't worry about it."

"But I'm telling the truth when I said you're a pretty great person.", he said, "I mean, all the work you did in Ravenswood is pretty rad."

It was true, he sometimes felt jealous of his sister who seemed to have fun working at Ravenswood, though he wouldn't dare admit that to her.

"Yeah…", she agreed, "Kara does almost all the paperwork to makes sure that we get all the publicity that we could get, like with the benefit concerts. While Adriane makes sure that the preserves is as healthy as possible. I'm there to help them as much as I can."

"What are you talking about?", now he was looking at her with a raised brow, "You're their animal doctor, right? I'm sure you did as much work as they did. What about that live interview?"

"Well, Kara was more suited for that, I don't know why she wanted me to go instead.", she rambled, trying to brush that off.

"Damn, just take a compliment already.", Kyle wacked her on the back, "Work isn't rewarding if no one says thank you to you."

Kyle then turned towards her, and with a grin, says, "Thanks for your hard work!"

"Ah… Your welcome…", Emily muttered back, looking embarrassed, but had a small smile on her face. Happy that his plan worked and there were no more problems between them, which is good considering that they're suppose to be working together, he decided to take his leave. Grabbing both the chips and cookies, he turned to leave the kitchen before Emily stopped him.

"I still want to talk to you about that weird dream last night…", she said, "Kara wants us to have a sleepover here tonight. So, at midnight, let's talk here again."

She gave him a smile and let him go. He grinned back and gave a nod, as he retreated into his room where the others were waiting.

"Hey guys.", Joey announced, "It looks like it's going to start raining late this evening."

"Damn, really?", Adam asked, "We've been getting a lot of rainy nights this week."

"Not only that, but it will rain all day tomorrow as well.", Joey added, "The weather forecast says that it might cause some fog to appear this Monday."

"Aw man, it'll be a pain going to school!", Kyle complained, as he ripped open the chips and began to eat it.

"Yeesh, looks like I have to go home early.", Marcus proclaimed, "My parents can't drive me home and I still don't have a driver's license… Looks like I'm walking…"

"Yeah, I'll have to go home soon as well.", Joey agreed, "I have some homework to do as well."

"Ditto…", Adam groaned.

"Heh, while I get to keep level grinding!", Kyle gloated at the group. They all playfully threw pillows at him and chatted for a little longer before they left the room to go home. Now all alone, he relaxed a bit as he reviewed the day's events in his head.

First, he had that weird dream that he and Emily shared, which told that some sort of chaos will come into their town. Coupled with the existence of the Midnight Channel, and this week had been a been the most interesting for him. Was this going to be like a mystery solving game? Igor had mentioned of them finding the cause of the chaos.

His mind then went to Emily and the conversation that they had. Igor had also mentioned that they would have to work together, which he didn't mind. In fact, he was sort of glad that it was her, as she made the perfect side kick; smart, reliable, and patient. Of course, she also seemed to have some self-esteem issues, but he was willing to give her some encouragement if that's what she needed.

Kyle couldn't help but grin to himself, there was so much possibilities that could happen that it would be impossible for him not to have fun with this.

* * *

After an hour more on discussing about the special show for Ravenswood over some drinks, there was a knock on the front door.

"Oh, that might be my friends!", Kara exclaimed, as she hurried to the front door. When she opened it, she saw that it wasn't her friends, but a young man with blank eyes.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'm here to see Jennifer.", he explained, "The female reporter who should be telling you about the special show for Ravenswood? Tell her that Keith is here to pick her up."

"Oh, okay.", Kara went back to the living room and looked at Jennifer, "Hey, this Keith guy says he is here to pick you up!"

"Oh, looks like I have-", she stopped, as she noticed something behind the blonde, "Oh, Keith you didn't have to come in to check on me!"

"You're the biggest airhead in our group, you know.", Keith replied, looking at her exasperated.

"I am not!", the reporter pouted back.

Keith just snorted and turned his attention to the three teens, stopping at Emily, "You were the girl who was helping that guy in the ally, right?"

Emily blinked, looking surprised, "Well, yes. How did…"

"That ally was in my path from my work to the mall." Keith explained, "Besides, people go to that ally more often than you think. You two aren't the only ones…"

"Huh?", the healer looked confused, but Kara seemed to understand, as she looked pissed.

"Never mind…", the young man shook his head, and returned his attention back to his coworker, "Come on Jennifer, let's go."

"Of course, but do you mind if there's some more passengers in the car?", the reporter asked, "Emily and Adriane said that they needed to get some stuff back at their homes…"

Keith stopped at that, but soon nodded his head.

"Good!", Jennifer looked happy, as she grabbed the hands of the two teens and lead them outside.

* * *

Kara and Adriane were waiting on the living room, the latter having come back with the necessary items for a sleepover. All they were waiting for was for Emily to arrive from a car ride with her mother. In fact, they called an hour ago, and the healer confirmed that she was already home.

"What's taking her so long?", the blazing star complained.

"Her mom must have roped her to do some chores before coming.", Adriane mused, "So stop fidgeting!"

Both girls paused as there was knocking on the door.

"See, I told you.", Adriane said, as she walked to the front door. However, when she opened it up, she saw Tiffany, Heather, and Molly instead.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that the others were joining the sleepover as well!", Kara explained behind her, "You don't mind, do you?"

"Just leave me from your make-up sessions and I won't complain.", the warrior sighed.

The blonde teen grinned, as she welcomed her three friends and brought them inside the house. She also took this opportunity to start talking about the special show for Ravenswood.

"That's, like, so cool!", Heather exclaimed, "When is the film date?"

"It's undecided yet, but it's most likely going to be in the weekend, since we want to involve students from our school as well.", Kara explained.

As they continued to chatter, Adriane decided to take this time to call Emily. Using her phone, she clicked on her contacts and tapped on the healer's number. It went to voice mail.

'What is taking her so long…?', Adriane thought. She tried again, but it went to voice mail again. Giving it a third try, she dialed her friends number again, but it still gave the same result. Finally, she did something different, as she dialed the phone number of the for the pet clinic. It picked up.

"Hello, welcome to the Stonehill Pet Clinic, how may I help you?", Carolyn's voice sounded through the phone. However, her voice sounded more distracted and worried, compared to her usual motherly tone. This already put up a red flag for the warrior.

"It's me Adriane.", she answered, "I'm just calling since Emily isn't picking up her phone. Is she ready for the sleepover?"

"…", the other side went silent for a moment before speaking up again, the distress obvious in her voice, "Adriane, I can't find her… I looked everywhere in the house and the Pet Palace, but she isn't here! I asked the neighbors, but they hadn't seen her. I tried looking around the woods beside our home, but I still can't find her!"

"What?!", Adriane shouted out, surprising the other teens in the living room.

"Adriane, what's going on…?", Kara asked, noticing the worry in the warrior's face.

"Miss. Fletcher, just stay there. I'll come over soon.", hanging up, she bolted toward the front door.

"Adriane! What's going on?!", Kara asked again, now looking scared.

"Carolyn said that she can't find Emily!", Adriane answered, as she continued her sprint towards the healer's home.

_Dreamer!_ Adriane called out, _go to Emily's home and start looking for her. Stay in mist form though._

_Yes packmate!_

Dreamer came out from the woods near the house and instantly turned to mist, obeying the warrior's orders.

* * *

Emily woke up and saw that she wasn't in the living room of her home anymore. Instead, she found herself laying in a forest that was covered in a dense, yellow fog. She tried to remember how she gotten to this place; she had gotten home thanks to Keith, asked her mother if she could go to Kara's sleepover, got her approval, called Kara to tell her this, then… Her eyes widened, as she remembered what happened.

"Oh god…", she muttered, her face turning pale.

Getting up, she used her magic to detect where she was. The place was unfamiliar, meaning that she must either be in an unknown part of the magic web, or she is in a different place entirely. Not only that, but she felt shadowy presences around her. And they didn't feel very friendly.

"Oh god…!", her breathing became faster and shallower, as panic started flowing through her body.

*Snap!*

Emily froze as she heard a twig snap from behind her, but her heart continued to beat frantically in her ribcage.

"Hey, it's that new girl from the pet clinic that just opened up."

"Oh my god, did you see what she is wearing? So tacky…"

"She seems to be an animal lover, but why does she have to smell like them too? So pathetic."

She recognized those jabs and insults, though it has been quite a while since she last heard them. It was still painful as before though, even though it has been a little over two years since she moved into Stonehill.

"God, why is she with Kara? She doesn't deserve to be friends with her…"

"I know right? Even Adriane deserves a better friend."

"She's just so… Plain…"

"So weak."

"So naïve"

"A PerFEct PrEy To FeaSt oN"

Her heart jewel flashed red and became heated, as if screaming at her to run. She didn't give it a second thought, as she jumped up and sprinted deeper into the forest.

* * *

When Adriane arrived at Emily's house, she spent the next hour searching for her with the help of Dreamer. However, no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find her. Dreamer had tried to sniff her out, but the only scent he could pick up on her was in the living room.

_Is that all?_ The warrior asked.

_Well… There's also the scent of that man who dropped you off home. But it only goes to the living room before going to the driveway…_

"What's going on…", the warrior muttered. Unsure of what to do next, she returned to the kitchen and saw Carolyn talking to the phone. Judging from the conversation, it looks like she was talking to the police.

A few minutes later, the police cars came in and parked in the neighborhood. Armed with search dogs, they began to search through the area and question the neighbors, but Adriane knew that they wouldn't find her.

* * *

It was late afternoon when Kyle decided to go downstairs to find some dinner. His mother and father had already told them that they had work that night, and he figured that Kara would order some pizza.

"Hey, sis, are you ordering pizza yet?", he called to the living room. However, he realized that the room was empty. In fact, as he searched throughout the house, it seemed like he was the only one in the whole building.

"What is going on?", he muttered, feeling totally confused. Emily had told him that Kara would be holding a sleepover here, and that they would talk at midnight. Did they cancel it? Deciding that he would find out, he pulled out his phone and called his sister's number. It rang for a while before going to voice mail. Not one to give up, he tried again and got voice mail again.

'One more try…', he thought, as he dialed her number again.

As the phone rang, a sick feeling started to grow in his stomach. Everything was alright. Everything is alright. Everything is alright…

"Kyle…?", Kara's voice called through his phone's speaker, as relief washed through his body.

"H-hey, where are you?", he asked, trying to sound casual, "I couldn't find anyone in the house, what's going on?"

He heard a sniff, as she tried to pull herself together. Once again, worry began to form as this sounded unlike his energetic younger sister.

"What's going on?", he asked again, a little more forceful.

"I-it's Emily…", she choked back a sob, "We can't find her. None of us can…"

"What?! What do you mean?!", he demanded.

"She somehow disappeared, and nothing is working on finding her.", Kara continues, as she began to break down, "The police can't find her. I can't find her. Adriane can't find her. Even the dogs are drawing a blank! What's going on?!"

Kyle froze at this. Was this the chaos that Igor was warning them? He shook his head, no she was supposed to help him, this must be a fluke.

"Do you want me to come over?", he asked, unsure of what to do.

"No… Just stay at home…", Kara mumbled. At that, she hanged up from the other side, leaving her brother alone in the house.

* * *

It was near midnight and Kyle was sitting in front of the TV at the living room. Igor's words were still haunting him, even if he tried to talk himself that this incident was completely unrelated. He didn't know how long he was sitting there, but the sound of static soon pulled him out of his thoughts and towards the TV in front of him. He had forgotten that it would rain tonight.

He was about to leave, when he saw what was being shown on the screen. The picture quality was much better than before, clearly showing a lonely girl in the screen. It was Emily. Another thing that he noticed is that she was in a foggy forest that he didn't recognize. The trees looked dead and he swore that he could see faces on them. As for Emily, she doesn't look happy, instead looking like she is running away from something.

"Emily?!", he cried out, as he instantly went closer to the screen. Reflexively, he reached out towards the screen and touched it, feeling the cool surface before it began to suck him in. Being caught off guard, Kyle stumbled forward, as the TV quickly ate up his hand and arm. Cursing at himself, he began to pull himself back, struggling until he managed to win them back. However, the force of his momentum also caused him to fall backwards, his back hitting the hard wood floor of the living room.

"Ugh…", he groaned, as he rubbed his now sore back. Looking back up, he saw the screen slowly dim and return to normal, signaling that it was no longer midnight.

"What is going on…?", he muttered to himself. Looking at his hand, he carefully touched the TV screen with the tip of his fingers. Much to his surprise, the screen reacted like water, showing glowing ripples from the place that he touched the screen. He quickly withdrew his hand.

Sleep, that was what he needed, sleep. Forcing himself to believe that he was hallucinating, he trudged back up to his room and laid on his bed.

* * *

Alphonse chuckled at Kyle, who was suddenly jolted awake and has found himself back into the Velvet Room. It was the same as the night before, the only glaring difference was that Emily wasn't there.

"Hallucinating?", Alphonse laughed, "Come on, you can do better than that! I thought you said that you two were going to save your town."

The sandy-haired teen glared at the assistant, "I am! I just need… Time to think…"

"My, my, this isn't like you at all.", the strange man continued to taunt, "I thought you like these kinds of things. Danger lurking around every corner, having to make split second decisions, and being creative to catch a villain!"

"Shut up!", he shouted, "I just…! Didn't know how… real this was…"

"Oh, so you thought this was all a game? Where that if you make a mistake, you can just reset and try again?", the yellow-eyed man sneered at him, "What if I were to tell you that someone can get killed in this 'game'?"

Kyle paled at those words, "What am I supposed to do…?"

Igor's grin widened at him, "That is for you to find out, this is your journey after all."

"This is only the beginning.", Alphonse warned, "Do not wait, but take action soon. Otherwise, you might be responsible for someone's death."


	6. Fog

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avalon Web of Magic. As for the main plot of the story, it is based on the video game Persona 4 by Atlus. I am merely using the plot to help create an AU of sorts for the characters of Avalon. **

* * *

Kyle woke up in his room, hearing rain hit the house from outside. Alphonse was right, this wasn't like him, moping around and ignoring what was around him; he needed to act. Jumping out from his bed, immediately headed downstairs to the living room. He didn't know if it was right but judging from what Alphonse said and what he saw in the Midnight Channel, Emily might be inside the TV. He doesn't know how or why, but he needed to act.

Entering the living room, he faced the TV once more before carefully sticking his hand in. Like before, instead of feeling the surface of the screen, his hand went through. Seeing that this still works, Kyle then started to stick his whole body in, first his arms, head, and then the rest. As he was going through, he had assumed that there would be solid ground for him to hold him, but he was very sorely mistaken. Instead, his hands felt empty air, and since he was already half way inside, his weight pulled him in as he plummeted downward.

* * *

Emily didn't know how long she was running, but she knew that she needed a place to hide and rest. Her legs and lungs were starting to burn. However, there was little to no vegetation around her, making it difficult for her to find a decent spot to hide in. Behind her, the whispers were following her, the poisonous words trying to reach her ears. To make matters worse, she also felt a malicious presence coming from behind.

Just when she was about to give up, the forest suddenly breaks into a clearing with a house in the center. While she should be worried on whether the house is safer than the outside, the whisperings were still behind her and she was starting to lose her stamina. So, she sprinted towards the door, grateful to find it unlocked, and entered inside while slamming the door shut behind her.

Finally having an opportunity to rest, Emily sat on the floor, with the door behind her, and let out a tired sigh. Looking around, she noticed that the fog was inside the house as well, making it hard to see the furniture and the building's layout. Still, she felt a feeling of familiarity from it.

"Inntruuuuderssss….", the voices whispered from the other side of the door, causing the healer to freeze in fear. Looking at the door, she realized that she forgot to lock it and quickly rose up to fix her mistake. However, it was too late, as the door suddenly burst open, knocking her back into the ground.

Pain shot through her body, as she hit the ground, but she didn't have enough time to even complain about it as a shadow loomed over her. Looking up, it was humanoid shaped, but its body was made of an inky substance. It raised its hand, which then turned into a sharp looking blade.

"Diiiieeee!", it screeched, as it brought the blade down.

* * *

One moment, Kyle was falling, the next thing he knew, his body hit the hard ground with a thud.

"Augh!", he cried out, as he landed unceremoniously on his back, causing him to wither in pain. Luckily, the pain quickly vanished, allowing him to prop himself up and look around his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was fog, a dense yellow fog that made it impossible for him to see a few feet in front of him.

"Where the hell am I?!", he groaned. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to jump into a place he has little knowledge of. In fact, looking around more, he couldn't find an exit back to his living room. Great.

* * *

Emily blasted a magic missile at its arm, obliterating it entirely. The inky monster looked surprised, as it turned to its missing limb. Taking this chance, she quickly crawled a few feet away before getting up, and sprinting through the house. Behind her, the monster screeched as it realized that she was escaping.

'Nope, nope, nope, nope!', she thought, as she ran through the house. Maybe coming inside wasn't such a good idea…

A loud screech sounded off to the right of her, as the wall suddenly burst open, revealing the same inky monster. It turned towards her, and opened its mouth, showing of a set of sharp, white teeth. Emily immediately raised her jewel towards it and blasted another magic missile. The monster's head was shot off, but it didn't seem to kill it as the head began to slowly reform itself. She grimaced, when she noticed the dark colors swirling on her healing stone.

She was still getting used to acknowledging the dark side of herself, but she knew that rejecting would make things worse for herself. Closing her eyes, she calmed herself down and reached towards the darkness that she once feared. And blasted another dark magic missile to the reforming head and sprinted off again.

With no time to think, she ran through the house, before running into a stairway. Emily hesitated for a bit, but a furious screech made her run up the stairs. She soon found herself in a hallway and jumped into the nearest room. Despite the thick fog, there was no denying the familiarity of the room, causing the healer to momentarily forget her situation. She was staring that the inside of her room.

"What the…", she muttered, feeling very confused on the whole situation. However, another resounding screech brought her back into reality. With no where left to go, she looked around before jumping underneath her bed, with the covers hiding the area underneath. Forcing her breath to be silent, she desperately prayed for the monster to not find her.

* * *

The inky monster was furious that the intruder had eluded it twice, as it scanned the area on where the intruder could have gone. The sound of footsteps quickly alerted the monster, as it let out a terrifying screech before bounding to the source of the footsteps.

It eventually reached a stairway, showing that the intruder had trapped itself. The monster grinned at this. Letting out one final shriek, it quickly climbed the stairs and turned to the closest room.

* * *

Emily could feel the presence of the monster, even without the help of her magic. It quietly stalked the room, coming closer to her direction. She quickly covered her mouth, as if to make sure no sound ever got out. She also prayed that its hearing wasn't good, as her heartbeat got louder and faster with each minute.

*Crash!*

That sounded like the monster had smashed her desk and was doing the same thing for all the other pieces of furniture. Instinctively, Emily shrank back, hoping that it would stop soon. However, the monster continued until she felt it towering over the bed. She then heard a crunch, as she saw it grip one side of the bed, as if to…

*Creeeaak….*

Emily looked up in horror, as she was soon face to face with the sharp teeth of the monster.

"I fooound yooooooou….", it hissed, before having another magic missile tear through its face. Emily sprinted towards the doorway of her room, but the monster anticipated this, and grabbed her leg, while its face was still reforming.

"No ESPCAPE!", it snarled, baring its sharp teeth at her. Emily tried to fire another missile at it, but the monster quickly grabbed her arm with her jewel.

"NO. ESCAPE!", it screamed at her face. Now that it had her dangling on one arm, it transformed its other arm into a sharp blade again. Panic coursed through Emily's body, as she called on her last piece of hope.

"Indi!", she cried out, as a flash of light appeared between them, forcing the monster to let her go and back away. The light soon faded, revealing an angry, purple unicorn, which spoke out to the inky form.

_Begone monster._

However, it instead howled out in rage, as if furious at the arrival of more intruders. Transforming both arms into blades, it charged onto the magical paladin. In response to this, Indigo quickly let out a bolt of magic from its horn, easily smacking the monster to the wall with a crack.

"Indi let's go!", Emily begged, "I sense more of them coming here, our magic is attracting them!"

The unicorn nodded in understanding.

_Then let us ride. I do not know where we are, but I'll try my best to find a way back to the magic web._

Before Emily could climb up on her paladin, the inky monster had slowly gotten up and let out a screech. Both animal and human stared at it, as it continued to scream out loud, its cry piercing through the mostly silent house and outside. Quickly, Emily realized what it was trying to do and quickly jumped on her paladin.

"Quick, we need to go!", she explained, "It's calling out for help!"

As if on cue, the whole house shook, as loud whispering began to echo through the house. Loud footsteps soon sounded off from all directions, coming closer to them. Realizing the danger, Indigo quickly reared back and charged towards the window. Smashing through the glass, both unicorn and human sailed through the air, before landing with a thud a good distance away from the house. As soon as Indigo got his footing back, he quickly began to gallop away.

"Thank you…", Emily muttered, as she nuzzled her paladin's mane with affection. However, this moment was cut short when Indigo's lets were suddenly slashed at, causing the unicorn to trip forward and land painfully on the group. As for Emily, she was flung off his back and landed a few feet away, adding a minor concussion to her growing list of injuries.

"Indigo!", she cried out, instantly going to her paladin's side, ready to heal him. A shadow soon loomed over her, causing the healer to look up to her new enemy. It was a suit of armor, but it was floating up on its own, as if someone invisible was wearing it. It held a large sword, and Emily could see Indigo's blood dripping off from it, causing her to feel angry.

"How dare you….", she growled, glaring up at the sentient armor. Her jewel pulsed red, as anger soon clouded her mind, telling her to punish it. Kill it.

DESTORY IT TO OBLIVION.

Holding out her magic jewel, she let out a huge blast of dark magic to the sentient armor, leaving only its legs remaining. Emily then turned back to her paladin, her anger leaving her body, as worry quickly replaced it for the health of her friend. Quickly, she brought her jewel to the wounds, as it glowed light blue. In a few minutes, the slashes on Indigo's legs disappeared, and the paladin soon woke up, feeling a bit drained.

_Emily…? Did you heal me…?_

She nodded, as she quickly embraced her paladin, glad to see her okay.

* * *

The inky monster was ashamed. Ashamed for letting an intruder get into their paradise and letting it do what it wanted. As it got up from the ground, it let out a snarl as it felt another presence. It didn't notice it at first, as the monster was busy trying to eliminate the first intruder, but there was one also romping through their world. It grimaced at that as it exited through the broken window and jumped off towards the direction of the second newcomer.

* * *

Kyle had started wandering in the strange foggy area he was in, hoping that maybe he could find Emily even if he didn't have an exit to go back to. This was why he entered the TV in the first place. However, from the Midnight Channel, he saw her in a strange forest, while he was currently in, what looked like, a stage.

"Damn, it doesn't help that I can't see with all this fog…", he muttered to himself. If he had known that it would be this foggy inside the TV, he would have brought a lamp or flashlight.

As he continued to walk in a random direction, praying that it will eventually lead to Emily, but after some time had passed, his wish still wasn't fulfilled. In fact, he found out that he had walked in a circle and returned to the area that he fell into.

'Great…', he thought, 'I'm lost, and I can't get back home… What could possibly get worse?'

A screech rang through the area, causing him to turn to the direction of the sound. He had nowhere to hide, meaning that his only bet was for it to not notice him through the heavy fog and hope that it didn't have a keen sense of smell.

"Moooore intruuudersss!", a voice called out, not sounding very human-like. Out of nowhere, an inky, humanoid monster jumped out from the shadows towards him.

"Shit!", Kyle cried out, as he rolled out of the way just in time. The monster landed neatly on its four limbs, as it turned towards him and gave out a snarl, showing off gleaming sharp teeth that could rip off his flesh.

"Nope!", he said, as he quickly turned tail and sprinted off.

Kyle had been running for quite a while, with the monster chasing after him from behind, and he was starting to get tired. Not only that, but he also kept running in circles, as he continues to run past the stage area repeatedly. If he kept this up, he would run out of energy, allowing the monster to catch and eat him without much effort. However, if he stopped right now with a bit of his energy left, he would at least be able to fend of the monster for a bit, while also surprising it.

Seeing how the latter was better, he immediately stopped and stepped to the side, causing the monster to fly past him before stopping himself and turning to face the male teen again. During this time, he sprinted towards the monster and tackled him to the ground.

"Aha!", he cried out, but his victory was short lived as it flipped their position around with him now being on the bottom.

"Aha!", it snarled, as its mouth twisted in a victorious smirk. Not one to give up, Kyle rolled the monster into the ground, now pinning it again.

"Oh no you don't!", he exclaimed.

"Oh yes I will!", the inky monster growled, as it switched positions again. This continued for quite a while, with them continuously trying to pin the other to the ground. However, one thing that Kyle forgotten was the stamina of the monster, which was far greater than his. Eventually, he found himself pinned down with no strength to fight back.

"Ahaaa!", the monster cried out, looking happy that it won. Raising one of its hands, it transformed into a sharp-looking, black blade.

"Woah hold on a second here!", Kyle exclaimed, "Do you really want to kill me?"

"Intruudeerssss!", it hissed.

"Okay, I get it, I'm intruding on your place, but I have a reason!", he begged, "Hear me out, okay?! I'll leave once I finish it, I swear!"

The monster's face scrunched up, as if considering his words. Or it could be that he pissed it off more.

"What is it?", it asked, causing Kyle to give out a sigh of relief.

"I'm looking for someone.", he explained, "A girl with curly, auburn hair while wearing a green vest."

The monster suddenly growled and brought its bladed hand to his neck, "She attacked me!"

"Well no kidding! You look terrifying!", he quickly shot back, but quickly regretted his words as it suddenly snarled at him, showing him a full view of its teeth. Fear shot through the teen's body, as he realized that he may have lost his chance at living.

'But… I don't want to die…', he desperately thought, 'Especially since I didn't save Emily yet…!"

He started to struggle against the hold of the inky monster above him, but almost all his strength was spent. All he could do was wiggle underneath its hold, as the monster raised the sword above its head.

Then something faint and warm began to grow on his chest, spreading throughout his body, as it suddenly grew into a searing heat on his heart. The monster seemed to notice that something was up, as it suddenly let him go and backed away.

Clutching his chest, he slowly sat up as light suddenly shot through the area over his heart before dying down. Looking down, he saw a glowing card nestled in his clutched hands.

"Y-you…!", the monster now looked scared, as it realized what happened. The teen looked up at it with a smirk on his face.

"Persona!", Kyle shouted, as he crushed the card with both hands, power erupting through his body as a creature appeared above him.

It looked like a fusion of a beautiful man and a dragon, as it had fair skin with a mop of silky looking brown hair while only wearing a cloth that covered his waist down. He also had scales that is littered throughout his body, two dragon-like wings sprouting out from his back, and both of its hands being claws.

"Alright, let me give you a choice!", Kyle offered, "You either help me get to where my friend is, or I beat your ass. Which do you prefer?"

* * *

After seeing her paladin get slashed on the legs, Emily had decided to rest for a bit, considering that most of the malicious presences were now closer to the strange house she found.

_I'm sorry… I should have been more careful…_

"No, you did your best Indi!", Emily assured, "I should have sensed those enemies up ahead. Don't worry though, we'll be prepared next time. Just rest for now."

Her paladin relented to her request and closed his eyes. Now that she was alone with her thoughts, the healer found herself to be thinking. Like how her family and friends are doing, how Kara and Adriane are holding up, and especially how Kyle is doing right now. They were supposed to be working together, but currently, she had gotten herself into trouble.

'God I'm so pathetic…', she thought, 'Even after all this time, I can't do a single thing on my own…'

_That's right…_

'I wonder what the others will think if they see me right now…', she continued.

_No matter how hard you try, it will never be enough…_

Emily paused for a moment, looking around her surroundings but finding nothing but the infuriating fog.

"Who's there?", she called out.

… _Ah, so you can sense me…_

In front of her, a shadowy figure appeared, though it was obscured by the fog. Emily's jewel flashed red in warning.

_Ignore your little toy over there, I won't hurt you._

"So, what do you want?", the healer asked, looking warily at the figure.

_Nothing, just the desire of humanity, I want to see whether they want the truth or a simple lie. However, it seems that you have already found your answer… How did it feel when you finally found Avalon?_

Emily froze at the mention of the home of all magic, "How did you…?"

_Don't look surprised, this place had piqued my interest right next to Inaba. So of course, I was watching the events that took place in the last two years._

"Then what do you want?", the healer asked, "Why did you appear to me?"

_You already completed your own quest, and here you are again, in the beginning of another. Why bother? Weren't you already tricked with the origins of Avalon?_

The healer flinched at that. It was true that she and her friends didn't know about how one of them would betray the rest and that Avalon was a sealed can of dark magic.

_See? Why go through it all again, especially since you killed a special friend… Ozzie, that was his name, right?_

"Shut up…", Emily muttered with a blank expression on her face. She didn't know the details of how she murdered Ozzie, but that didn't stop the nightmares from showing her his dead eyes and cold furry body lying in the gates of Avalon. There were also the faces of the other magical animals, who looked at her with betrayal and mistrust, as if saying that they wanted her to die as well. Fortunately, the nightmares became scarce, but would still pop up at times where she least expected it.

The shadowy figure chuckled at her, as if knowing what she was thinking about.

_You were given a second chance for your mistake, however, let me tell you this. Things won't be so forgiving this time around. Someone might die for real, like your little partner, Kyle. You both are supposed to work together, right? I wonder how he'll react if his little assistant has murdered someone…_

"I said shut up!", Emily shouted, not liking where this conversation was going. However, the idea was now stuck in her mind. His cold body, laying right in front of her, with his eyes asking why she did this. Already she could see Kara and Adriane looking at her with the same look, not daring to come near her. And her friends at Aldenmor, especially Merlin, they would hate her again. Her heart ached at this, but there was no denying the possibility now. She was tainted.

_Well… Whatever you do, I'll be watching. May we meet again, Emily Fletcher…_

The shadowy figure retreated away, leaving the healer alone. Taking deep breaths, she managed to calm herself down, but the words of the strange figure was still haunting her. The possibility of her killing someone again… It wasn't that impossible. The healer didn't know how the figure knew so much about her, but she wasn't going to let it be proven right.

'I-I was weak last time… I just need to be stronger…', she thought to herself, 'I need to make sure it doesn't happen again… Not with Ozzie or with Kyle…'

Just at that moment, Indigo slowly lifted his head up, looking groggy as if he was sleeping for a week.

_Emily…? Sorry… I didn't expect to fall asleep so deeply… What happened…? Are you alright…?_

Emily looked at her paladin, knowing that he could sense her inner turmoil. She wanted to tell him what had happened, but right now, all she wanted to do was leave this place.

"Nothing.", she replied, hiding her feelings from her paladin, "Are you well enough to walk?"

_It was only a flesh wound. Now, let's get out of here._

The healer smiled and both human and unicorn stood up. However, Indigo quickly fell again, causing the healer to panic.

"Indi! What's wrong?!", she cried.

_I-I'm sorry… But it looks like this place is trying to reject me…_

With shaky legs, Indigo slowly got back up and raised his jewel, as he tries to create a portal. A small one begins to open, but soon fizzles out as Indigo falls back to the ground.

_S-sorry… But it looks like this place suppressed a lot of my power…_

"No, it's alright.", Emily comforted, "Why don't you return back? That way you recover your powers back."

_I don't know… You'll be alone…_

"I'll be fine!", she promised, "Trust me."

Indigo looked at her before nodding along and disappearing in front of her with a flash of light.

'It's alright, everything will work out…', she assured, as she continued to walk through the foggy forest.

* * *

Kyle followed the inky monster that he now captured, who was currently leading him to where it last saw Emily.

"I'm glad you see my point… Um, what should I call you?", Kyle asked, "I don't want to keep addressing you as inky monster…"

"…", it didn't answer, either not properly hearing him or just ignoring the human teen.

"Alright, Nik it is!", he exclaimed, "So how long until we reach my friend?"

"…"

"Come on Nik!", Kyle sighed, "I know I threatened you and all, but it's really your fault for attacking me first."

"…"

Realizing that he won't get Nik talking anytime soon, he just sighs as he is forced to walk in silence. After what seems like hours, Kyle noticed that the scenery changed, as dead trees now surrounded them with the thick fog.

"Alright!", he cheered, causing Nik to turn around and snarl at him.

"Unless you want shadows to come over and beat your ass, I suggest you keep it down!", it hissed.

"Shadows?"

"Monsters like me", it explained. Kyle nodded, as he looked around more warily. Though, he would be lying if he said that he didn't want to test out his new powers on these shadows.

As they continued to walk through the forest, Nik stopped and tilted its head.

"Looks like your friend is on the move. Smart move.", it noted, "Luckily for us, she's coming in our direction."

"Really?! Where?!", Kyle asked, momentarily forgetting about being quiet.

"Idiot!", Nik growled, covering the teen's mouth. However, it was too late, as the snarl sounded off to the right of them. From behind on of the trees, an empty knights armor came out, moving on its own.

"_Intruders!_", it cried, before lifting its sword and started running towards the two.

Kyle grinned, as he was prepared for this. From his heart, the same card floated out, as he quickly grabbed it and crushed it with his hand, summoning Samael again.

"Eiha!", he ordered, as Samael blasted the enemy with a shot of dark energy.

"_Ugh!_", the sentient armor went down on one knee, but soon got back up again. Kyle grinned at this and was about to call out another order when a dark bolt hit the enemy at the side of the head, killing it instantly.

"Kyle…?", the male teen turned to the source of the voice and saw Emily through the fog.

He grinned at her, "Hey, nice to see your face again."

"What are you doing here?", she looked both worried and confused, as she walked right up to him.

"Well, to rescue your ass of course.", he replied casually, "Do you know that your giving my sister and your mother a heart attack right now?"

She flinched at those words, "O-oh… I-I'm sorry…"

"Hey, cheer up!", he sighed, as he slapped her in the back, "All you have to do is appear in their doorstep, apologize, and then tell the police what happened."

"Police?!"

"Yeah, they're that worried."

"Oh…", she now looked guilty at the news, "… How about you…? Why are you here?"

"Well… I heard from my sister that you were missing and that didn't help when I saw you on the Midnight Channel.", he explained.

"Again?", she looked interested.

"Yeah, but this time it was you running from something in this forest.", Kyle continued, "So I… got overzealous and jumped into the TV the next morning."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, I don't know how, but I can now go inside of TVs!", he then looked at Emily with a serious expression, "So how did you get here?"

"Ahem!", the teen turned towards the impatient-looking ink abomination, "While it's nice of you two to catch up-"

"Hey, aren't you the same monster that tried to kill me?", Emily asked.

"- I need you two to LEAVE!", it finished.

"Ha... About that…", Kyle awkwardly laughed, "I don't know how to go back!"

"WHAT?!"

"Me neither…", Emily quietly added.

"YOUT TWO!", Nik looked exasperated.

"Sooooo, Nik…", Kyle looked over at the inky monster, "Do you know a way out?"

"Why don't I just kill you two?", Nik snarled.

"No!", Emily immediately shoved herself between the two and looked apologetically to Nik, "I'm sorry for intruding, we really didn't mean to cause any harm!"

With puppy dog eyes, she looked pleadingly at Nik, "I know that it's troublesome with you, but can you please lead us to the exit?"

Nik was caught off guard by this, not expecting any of the two to beg for its help.

"Welll…. If you don't come back here again… I'll do it.", it caved in grumpily.

"Alright! Thanks bud!", Kyle cheered.

"Just don't do anything that will change my mind…", Nik glared at Kyle before leading the group to the exit.


End file.
